Longtime plumbing company, music studio each get
$100,000 to expand business

Detroit Economic Growth Corp. CEO Rodrick Miller (center) poses with the winners of Motor City Match program on Monday at Brix Wine and Charcuterie in the city's West Village.

A fourth-generation plumbing and heating supply company and a collaborative music studio got the lion's share of the third round of grant funding from Detroit's Motor City Match program.

Advance Plumbing & Heating Supply Co. at 2984 Grand River Ave. and Assemble Sound in a historic church at 2300 17th St. each received $100,000 to further develop and expand their businesses.

Advance Plumbing & Heating, which has had a location in the vicinity of the Lodge Freeway and the MotorCity Casino Hotel for 96 years, bought a former car dealership building on Cass Avenue in Midtown and plans to spend $1.76 million to restore it. It will turn the space into a decorative plumbing and heating showroom that is expected to create 10-15 new jobs.

"The showroom will complement our current business model that is plumbing," said Jeffrey Moss, Advance Plumbing president. "All big cities have showrooms like this, but not Detroit, because it didn't warrant it. Now the city is in a position to successfully support a showroom. We will feature many of the goods people who are restoring properties downtown need."

Garret Koehler's Assemble Sound is near the Michigan Central Station in Corktown and has a recording studio, community space and co-working studio for musicians.

"Assemble Sound connects local musicians with commercial producers, something many struggle to do now," Koehler said in a previous Crain's story.

Motor City Match funding for the nine small businesses ranged from $18,000 to $100,000 and includes restaurants, retail and professional service companies.

Since starting last year, Motor City Match has received more than 2,000 applications from businesses and building owners in Europe and across the United States. The program has awarded $1.5 million in grants in its three rounds, which resulted in $10.5 million in investments in neighborhood small business.

"Small business is the backbone of our community," Rodrick Miller, Detroit Economic Growth Corp. CEO, said at Monday's event. "They tend to make investments in neighborhoods."

Two-thirds of the Motor City Match award winners have been Detroiters, and 70 percent of the winning businesses are minority owned. Woman-owned businesses comprise 67 percent of the winners; 51 percent are minority-women owned enterprises.

Marti Benedetti/Crain's Detroit Business

Mikiah Westbrook, owner of Brix Wine and Charcuterie in the Detroit's West Village, earned $32,000 in match grants in the Motor City Match program. She expects to open her business in late spring in a former bank building on Kercheval Avenue.

One of those is Mikiah Westbrook, owner of Brix Wine and Charcuterie in the city's West Village. The recipient of $32,000 in match grants expects to open her business in late spring in a former bank building on Kercheval Avenue.

"People wonder if the Detroit resurgence is real. Well, look around here, it is real," Westbrook said.

Westbrook said her shop will feature a large outdoor patio that can seat 100 while the former bank's safe room will be an area where small groups can gather. The shop will also deliver its goods.

Other Motor City Match winners are:

Mack Avenue Community Church (developer) and The Commons (tenant), $80,000. The church will lease its property to a for-profit limited liability subsidiary called The Commons, a combination cafe and coin laundry with free Wi-Fi.

Black Pride Beauty LLC, $60,000. This African-American hair care company manufactures and wholesales a patented product called the Comb-N-Weave. It plans to employ 10-30 veterans and community members at its new location at 1111 Bellevue St.

Always Brewing Detroit, $45,000. Almost 3 years old, this cafe and community gathering space at 19180 Grand River Ave. in northwest Detroit plans to use its grant money to add a kitchen to serve healthy and locally sourced food in a neighborhood with few sit-down restaurants. It also hosts arts shows, open mike nights and other social activities.

DMEX Printing, $35,000. It has been a Spanish and bilingual print shop for 13 years in southwest Detroit. The grant will allow the business to expand in a new space at 7226 W. Vernor Hwy. with increased parking. This is its second Motor City Match grant.

Bamboo Detroit, $30,000. This co-working space will expand to a new spot at 1430 Washington Blvd. in downtown Detroit.

Mama Coo's Boutique, $18,000. The resale and vintage shop plans to also sell pieces from local artists. It supports the community through clothing drives and silent auctions. Its location will be 1707 Trumbull Ave. in Corktown.

The next application window for building and business owners to apply to Motor City Match will be open from June 1 to July 1. Application details are available at MotorCityMatch.com.